Ten Ton Madness
by BIO3729
Summary: There's only one rule in Tankathlon, and it's that your vehicle can only weigh up to 10-tons. What kind of craziness ensues when Fauna, Albert, and Sarah join the sport that has no rules? Figure out what as light tanks, tankettes, armored cars, and other vehicles from around the world fight each other to the death. Remember kids, don't do tank battles at home.
1. A New Challenger Appears

**Chapter 1:** **A New Challenger Appears**

It was a sunny day in Noblesville, Indiana. The birds were chirping, the flowers were blooming. Families were having picnics on a grassy field, lying in the open breeze that passed by. Kids were running around, and everything was normal.

*BOOM* *RATATATATATA* *VRRRRRRR*

Ok, not so much.

The picnics were of spectators cheering on the kids running around; but not on foot. This was a tank deathmatch, otherwise known as a tankathon. It's not like Senshado with all its rules and whatnot; this was your street version. You can bring any tank you want, and it's a duel to the death. But of course, there is one rule.

Your tank can only weigh 10-tons or less.

The current spectacle was a faceoff between two American tanks, both were M1 Combat Cars, with their .50 and .30 caliber machine guns in a single turret. The young commanders kept their heads outside of the turret as their tanks clashed, the machine guns roaring as they failed to reach each others' armor. Safety was totally ignored, even as some rounds bounced off harmlessly from the armor plating. One of them dashed away suddenly, with the other left to slowly traverse and chase it down.

"It's like cat and mouse now…" muttered one of the men watching, holding a pair of binoculars in hand. He hadn't noticed that the daughter that usually sat beside him had disappeared. But had he known, he would be watching a different match right now.

Off in a nearby forest, a girl started the ignition of her tank, a dark plume of smoke sputtering from the exhaust before turning to grey. The tank shuttered as the engines were warmed, the girl charging it up by tapping the gas pedal. She pushed aside her silver tinted hair and looked outside of her hatch, waiting for the signal to move. She also adjusted her short skirt so that it didn't bother her while she was changing gears.

The tank was very dark green in the shadow of the trees, and its coating hadn't been painted in years. Rust was growing in multiple spots, and chips of paint that had cracked off revealed the iron that it was built out of. The tracks were covered in dirt, and the running gears had seen better days.

But the gun stood proudly, 37mm in diameter, making it a fine weapon for this sport. The machine guns were also in working order, and the armor was still okay. On the turret were the roundels of the British Air Force and the American flag, signaling the patriotism and glory that this tank possessed.

Back inside, the driver tapped her foot impatiently, and finally she saw the telltale orangish-red hair of her commander running towards the tank with a sniper scope in her hands. Oh, and she was pantless. Yes, she was wearing a British army dress uniform, which looked very good on her well shaped body, but she wore no pants. "Let's bloody move now!" she shouted, and the driver changed the gears and drove towards her. When it looked like she was about to run her over, the tall girl jumped onto the moving tank, and climbed onto the turret. "Damn it, Sarah, you could at least stop!" she growled as she entered the turret.

"Sorry Fauna," Sarah muttered under her breath, closing the hatch and looking through the slit that she had to peer through. There was a tap on her shoulder, and she looked over to see their gunner, a boy who looked rather feminine, trying to hand her a chocolate bar. His dark hair was about the same color of the bar, and the bangs fell smoothly to the side of his face. He had tied his hair in a knot as well behind his head, but it didn't help him look any more masculine. "Thought you might be hungry," he affirmed, his face rather devoid of emotion. She smiled awkwardly and relieved him of the confection. "Thank you."

Their vehicle came out of the forest gloriously to the sound of explosions, with two tanks rolling in front of them as one was chased to death and the other trying to aim at the swerving vehicle. "Our first target is the Renault R35 over in that bush over there!" Fauna shouted into the vehicle. It was necessary to do so, because it was very loud with the engines running inside. "It's been harassing the other guys all day, and anyone that tries to get near it just gets ripped to shreds! So that's why we're killing it first!"

Sarah was tapped on her left shoulder by what was Fauna's foot, and she drove off to the left, trying to follow the flow of battle so as to not alert the French tank in hiding.

"Yo Allan, you see that over there?" asked one of the commentators of the event, sitting from a watch tower as they gave the spectators a running review of what was going on around the battlefield. "Yeah Joey, I see it. Looks like another tank just entered the show!" answered his partner. "Looks like some Japanese tank, but I ain't ever seen it before."

The crowd murmured in excitement as the attention was now shifted to the new entry. A tank that the commentators didn't know of? This was something to see.

"It seems to be following the other battles right now, but I think it's got a plan." The unknown Japanese light tank began creeping closer to the bush, and out of the blue it fired a round directly towards the engine deck, setting the cavalry tank on fire, a white flag popping out moments later from its turret.

"Did you see that folks?! The new guy just destroyed our top scorer today!" the speakers echoed, and the crowd went wild. "Hey I got it!" Allan exclaimed, holding a smartphone in his hand with a picture of the same vehicle rolling around right now, "That's a Type 2 Ke-To, an improved Type 98 Ke-Ni which was made to replace the Ha-Go!"

Cheers of support began to be thrown towards the newcomers, with some groans from the fans of the just-wrecked. People began piling around, trying to get closer to the tank as it passed by, and they waved at the commander who just looked at them with a wide grin.

"Alright girls, let's go get us another kill!" she ordered, the tank going off to find its prey. "I'm not a girl, Faun, I thought we talked about this," the boy grumbled, peering through his scope and firing at a T-15 as they passed by, not getting the kill but managing to track the Belgian vehicle. Fauna smiled warmly, and began to twirl his hair in her fingers. "I know, Albert, but you look so much like one! ~" He groaned, and took another shot at the T-15 as it began firing its 13.2mm Hotchkiss machine gun in retaliation. The gunning stopped as the engine spit out black smoke, and another kill was confirmed.

Suddenly, the tank was tipped to the side with a screech in the air of the hull, and it landed back on its two tracks with a resounding thud. "Bollocks, what now?!" Fauna growled, popping out of the hatch, and looking to their right. "Holy fu- Sarah, FULL STOP!" The tank braked, lurching forwards slightly as a large round detonated in front of it.

"Turn the bloody turret, where the fuck did they get an AT-1?!" Fauna snarled, the turret turning as fast as it could. "Reverse!" Another round landed where they were just standing. "Any day now, Albert!" Albert quickly spat out a round at the artillery tractor, but missed completely. They were still loading, and Albert shoved another round into the gun. "Firing!" he shouted, but as he pulled the trigger, the tank shook with so much force that a round dropped to the floor.

A white flag popped up in Fauna's face, and she roared angrily, glaring at the 76mm round that had lodged itself on the vehicle. "You. Bloody. Wankers!" she shouted accusingly, pointing at the AT-1 on top of the hill. The commander of said vehicle shrugged, and it backed down the other side of the hill.

"Aaaah, fuck…" Fauna muttered, slumping into her seat. "Let's go get this thing back to the shop…" The other two nodded in response, and Sarah dialed her phone.

"Hey dad, can we borrow your truck?" " _What's up honey, I'm busy trying to take a look at that Jap tank."_ "Yeeaaaah, I'm the driver of that Jap. We need a lift." " _Hot damn honey, alright, be right there._ " She tapped the end call, and sighed in dismay. "Ugh, was planning to drive this thing back home…" The hatch opened from the outside, and Fauna offered her hand. "Well, let's get out of there, yes?" Sarah looked up at her tiredly, put otherwise accepted the help, and the commander helped pull her driver out of the tank.

"Look, it's the crew!" cheered one of the spectators, and a small group of people began surrounding the Ke-To's crew members. "You guys did great!" "Girl, get some pants on!" "Tell us about your tank!" They were asked so many questions at once, but Fauna managed to take over and answer them one by one. _Thank god she's patient..._ Sarah thought, watching as the red head smiled and chatted with the adoring fans. _Only day one, and we have a fanbase. Yipee._

"The tank is Japanese and wasn't put through very mass production," Fauna explained, "it's got a wonderfully adequate Type 1 tank gun and a 7.7mm machine gun. Plus, it's pretty fast, mates." Before they could ask anymore, Fauna walked back to the tank, and helped the tow truck pick it up for them before running off on the truck's back. Sarah and Albert quickly followed, and waved to the fans as they yelled their goodbye's. "Hope to see you girls fighting again!"

* * *

Several hours later, the Ke-To was resting on the bed of an eight-wheeler truck, attached to it with some bungee cords. The small crew was sitting inside the driver's compartment with the rather burly father, much to Sarah's dismay.

"I can't believe you girls are drivin' that tank! Where'd you get it?" He asked, very curious and delighted to learn of their interest in the sport. "We found it decaying in the forest…" Fauna muttered in thought, still trying to figure out how they got their hands on it. "You know, I really can't get how it got there in the first place," she pointed out, "but it's an airborne tank you know, so maybe the Japanese dropped it in sometime during the… war…?" It sounded so stupid, yet that was the story they'd have to go with.

"Well that sounds reasonable." They all looked at him dumbfounded, but otherwise dropped the topic. "So Mr. Walther, you were a tanker back in the day, right?" Albert asked. "'Ats right, Berta, commanded an Abrams through all the moon dust in Afghanistan." "Could you... Coach us?"

Sarah smacked Albert and Fauna glared at him, but before they could take back what he said, the father chuckled with a cheery smile. "Sure thing! I'll get you girls into shape!" "Thanks dad..." Sarah muttered weakly, and they stayed silent the rest of the way home.

* * *

"Aaaand, that wraps up today's plan," Fauna boasted proudly, standing before their now fixed Ke-To inside a secluded garage. The tank looked like how it was before the competition, and it seemed like they were prepared to have it go for another round. The other two facepalmed, shaking their heads in dismay. "Faun, we're going to get wrecked if we join this competi-" "Shhhhhhh," Fauna interrupted, "It'll be fine! We'll get a friend to join us first!" Her crew looked at her questionably. "...Friends?"

On queue, there were footsteps behind her, and they turned their heads to see a girl of average height and owning light brown hair standing at attention behind them. "Gooooood afternoon, ladies and gentleman," she greeted, her stride very flamboyant, which she shouldn't be doing if she's wearing a miniskirt. But then again, Fauna was still pantless, so what does it matter?

"This is Hanna Barkmann, resident history intellect," Fauna informed, "she's driving the other tank that's going to join us." "Yep, I'm ready to support!" she said happily, looking at the Ke-To curiously. "You guys should really get this thing cleaned up..." "Hanna." "Right! I'm the commander of the Autoblinda 40!" Albert and Sarah looked at her blankly. "The... What?" Hanna sighed, and walked towards the exit, pulling on both Albert and Sarah to follow her.

"That!" She pointed at what looked like a deformed car with a Pz I's turret on it, standing right next to the garage. But it was in fact an armored car. Its crew stood beside it, waving at them, and they waved back awkwardly.

"We're screwed."


	2. Try Outs

**Chapter 2:** **Try Outs**

Looking at the current state of the vehicle she was commanding, Fauna sighed and decided things needed to change. She looked down at a clipboard that listed everything that she needed to do. Next to a very large box that needed to be checked, read in capital letters 'FIX THE DAMN THING'. Nothing else was listed, so she threw the board aside. "Alright, what the hell are we going to do with you?..."

She had driven the Ke-To outside of the garage, and parked it right in the middle of the small path that leads to the building. Outside was a forest, devoid of any other human structures, and the sounds of nature softly echoed throughout the area. Fauna breathed in heavily, feeling a breeze pass by, and quite noticeably by her thighs, which were inevitably still uncovered. The redhead had chosen to wear white today, and it matched her black tee, the end hanging just below the waistline.

She checked her watch, and it wouldn't be until a few hours for the other two to arrive. This left Fauna alone with the tank, to caress its metal hide, softly brush herself against the cannon, check its oil for leakage- No, she's just going to repair it. Taking some tools from the shop, she began to get to work, getting the tank back into perfect shape.

* * *

Yawning still, Sarah walked down the forest path, eying the birds that had already begun their day's way beforehand. _The early bird gets the worm, right?_ She stopped dead in her tracks when she arrived at the garage, the bag in her hand dropping with a soft puff. Her mouth was gaping, and she couldn't manage to say anything.

"Ah…. Ahchoo!" Someone sneezed from inside the tank, and Fauna popped out of the turret hatch, her hair looking like a mess, despite some of it being tied behind her. "Gah, 'ello Sarah, have a nice morning?" The tank looked factory fresh with a clean coat of Post 1942 Imperial Japanese Army camo. The tracks looked like new rubber, and the running gears looked well-oiled and also coated with camouflage.

"H-How… How the hell...?" Fauna jumped off the tank quickly, and put a finger to Sarah's lips. "I had some time on my hands." There were footsteps from behind, and Albert, wearing a skirt and sweater vest despite his claims that he was still a boy, greeted them. "Good morning Sarah, Faun-aaaaa?" He had seen the tank, and took it by surprise. Fauna repeated the gesture she had performed on Sarah, and they both shut up.

"Right, let's get to business. The other team is already waiting for us at the try-outs, so let's get going!" Both crew men saluted, and they all clambered into their positions, the engine roaring seconds later, and the tank sped away from the garage at top speed. "You even fixed the engine?!" Sarah blurted, and Fauna laughed heartily. "That's right, have fun with it!" she shouted back, and she continued to enjoy the breeze that the tank's movement produced.

 _Let's kick some arse!_

* * *

Arriving at the competition, the Ke-To was greeted by a chorus of gunfire, the first match already starting. They found the crew of the Autoblinda 40 and parked their vehicle beside it. The match area looked like a small expo overlooking a huge farmland with hills. "How's it looking so far, Hanna?" Fauna asked, sipping on a cup of cola as she watched the match unfurl.

It was between two small teams of tankettes of multiple sizes, and surprisingly she saw one of them was gunning with a Bren Carrier. The commander of the vehicle seemed to be laughing manically as the other crewmembers ducked into cover, the high-caliber machine gun supporting its allies from a medium distance. _The crazies here are an amazing bunch._

"We're being put up against another amateur team that's just starting up, balanced to us by having the same loadout," Hanna replied, munching on some fries. She pointed over to a nearby group of people, who were also watching the match with intensity. "One light tank and one armored car, just like us. That's pretty much the only thing that matches; I have no idea what vehicles they are exactly."

The Bren Carrier erupted in flames, and the screams of the crew could be heard as they put the fire out, the white flag popping out amongst the flames. The announcer called out that the other team had won, and some parts of the crowd cheered. "We're next, let's go!"

* * *

There was no courtesy in this sport; they didn't shake before the match started. Dirty tactics were showcased here, and were tested if they could be pulled off correctly. Fauna looked over to her left, where the AB 40 was rumbling quietly. Hanna gave her a thumb up, and she replied with her own thumb and a devilish grin. "Let's roll!" Fauna shouted, and both vehicles charged forwards into the field, plowing through a fresh crop of corn. This was their battlefield picked by the 'officials', but it didn't matter if they didn't follow through.

"Halt!" Fauna ordered, the tank coming to a stop, but the Autoblinda continued to run through. She took out her scope, and climbed out of the hatch, now standing on top of the turret. The wind blew around her furiously as she looked through her scope, watching the movement in the distance. Before the match had started, she had found a moment to add her army uniform onto her top, but otherwise her attire did not change.

She found the movement that was needed, and two lines were racing towards the Autoblinda that was also moving. It would appear that both did not know they were going to come into contact, but they would soon enough. "Those sonsof-" she hissed, "sure it's the bloody same class, but THESE two?!"

From her sights, she could see before her a Humber Armored Car, with its powerful M6 37mm gun rivaling even the Ke-To's. And then the light tank was a T-70, which also had a respectable gun and impressive frontal armor. Both were tough kills, and the Autoblinda 40 wouldn't be able to handle them on its own. "Sarah, take us through the right flank!" The engine groaned to life once more, and they raced off towards the right, Fauna beginning to get back down into the turret.

"Albert, prepare to fire to our 9 o'clock. Load AP as always, can't risk this shot." Albert loaded the right round into the gun, and turned the turret accordingly. Up ahead to the left, they could hear the sounds of a machine gun cutting through the air, and two cannon shots breaking the echo. It didn't continue, but Fauna could still see the rustling of corn.

"Now!" The tank came to a complete halt, and just as expected something had collided into its side roughly. As planned, it was the T-70, which began to slowly turn its turret, just not fast enough. The Ke-To was also keeping it from turning its hull. Albert fired a round, but alas it ricocheted off the side of the vehicle's turret. "Forwards!" The Ke-To accelerated forwards before the T-70 could take its shot, and Albert loaded another round while turning the turret.

"Firing!" Both turrets had pointed towards each other at the same moment, but it all mattered on the gunner's reaction speed, and Albert had pulled the trigger first. And yet once more, he missed. But so did the T-70, and they turned to face each other once more. Both hulls were now pointed directly their enemy, and the front armor of the T-70 was obviously thick.

Fauna pointed at the tank wildly, and screamed, "Charge!" The Ke-To roared forwards, and Albert fired the machine gun in frenzy. Fauna watched the enemy's cannon for a moment. _The gun's loaded!_ "Swerve!" They turned just in time, and the round scratched with a deafening screech on the side of the Ke-To's hull. Fauna covered her ears, but kept her eyes open as the T-70 slowly tried to reverse. "Fire at the damn thing, Albert!" A round spat out of the Type 1's mouth, racing towards the enemy, impacting with a 'ding!' on the left running gear, destroying the track links. They sped past it, and Sarah stopped the tank to let Albert take his aim. He loaded HE, and pointed directly at the engine deck. He launched a shell, and it exploded like a firecracker, setting the enemy on fire, and a white flag flew high. "That was fucking close…" Fauna murmured, watching as the crew spilled out of the tank, screaming for their lives as the tank's engine exploded behind them.

* * *

"Jordan, wait until you can hit its weakspots!" Hanna commanded, keeping the gunner on target as the two armored cars brawled it out. With one shot enough to destroy them, Hanna had to keep the Humber's gun off her vehicle. She thought of a way out, and she finally thought of one. "Marelda, I want you to go full speed in any direction, just make sure it's a straight line!"

The Autoblinda quickly retreated towards a random direction, and the Humber crew was left in the dust. But they didn't stop chase, and despite the AB 40's rapid speed, it still had to maneuver against the 37mm rounds being thrown at it. "Hard left!" They swerved to the left just in time to dodge a game ending shot. "Gottvordamm that was close!" Hanna exclaimed, looking behind as they quickly out ran the enemy vehicle.

After a minute of driving, the world became clear once more as they forced themselves out of the cornfield. This startled the audience that had been waiting on the edges of the field, and some of them laughed nervously at the vehicle.

"Okay, drive over to the right a bit, that's it…" The waited patiently at the edge of all that corn, and after a minute or so, the Humber Armored Car could finally be heard within, and it emerged outside of the field, the commander on top looking confused. Some of their team's fans were trying to help out by pointing to the AB 40 that was about to hit their side. "Look over there!"

"Opening fire!" Jordan reported, firing away at the side armor of the boxy vehicle. The 8mm rounds had no trouble in ripping the Humber to shreds, and the enemy commander ducked down into the turret in shock, the white flag finally revealing itself from the engine deck. "Humber Armored Car's down, the Keto-Aybee pair wins!" cried the announcer. A chorus of applause could be heard from around the battleground, and Hanna sighed in relief.

* * *

"Cheers mates!" Fauna cheered, raising her glass to the air. The other crew members of the Ke-To and the AB 40 also raised theirs, and they downed their drinks at once. And no, silly reader, they're minors. It's just cups of soda, nothing wrong here, just cups of sugary and carbonated delight. Fauna giggled as she took the cup off her lips, and put her empty cup on the table.

"Alright, so we passed the try out, that's a good start!" she commented. "It's pretty much the only way we're supposed to start," Sarah added, and Fauna just laughed some more before patting the girl's back. "Don't be like that! Imagine what would happen if we lost!" Sarah rolled her eyes. "Then we'd be going back home right now. Nothing odd about that."

Fauna's eye twitched, but before she could reply, Albert asked, "By the way, how does this competition work?" Fauna tapped her chin for a few moments. "Well, after the trials are done, we're then put in a state-wide event, and we're given maps of the huge area we're allowed to hunt in. Imagine the Hunger Games, tank style." Everyone's eyes widened at the thought. "Is fuel and ammo going to be supplied?" Hanna asked.

"Just fuel from what I hear," Fauna replied, "this isn't exactly as rich as those official tank competitions, remember? We'll have to figure out munitions later." Everyone began to think to themselves, wondering how they were going to work out the situation. "Well, we can start looking for sponsors or advertisers!" Hanna suggested, "Lots of bigger teams in Tankathlon do that." Everyone nodded at her suggestion, and so did Fauna.

"Right, so after we're wrapped up here, we'll look for someone to sponsor us, alright?!" "Yes ma'am!"

* * *

"How the hell does one look for sponsors?!" Fauna exasperated, looking at her monitor's screen. Sarah and Albert were also in her room, lying on her bed or looking through her miniature models. "Don't you just go up to the businesses and ask them personally?" Sarah wondered aloud, her feet kicking in the air as she lied down on her belly. Fauna turned around and looked at her as if she were a silly girl. Which of course, she was.

"What, ask them, 'Hey, want to support our tank team? We'll destroy them in your name!'?" Fauna replied, swiveling her chair back to face the screen. "It was just a thought," Sarah muttered, looking around her commander's room. "You really do love armored history and guns, don't you Fauna?" Plastered on the wall were movie posters of 20th century films based around World War II, there were framed pictures of tanks and other vehicles, and she had an impressive collection of tank models, of which Albert was browsing through.

"Hey Faun, where did you get this VK 30.01 P model?" he asked, poking the scaled tank gently. Fauna stretched her head to look over at where Albert was standing. "Oh, I bought it at a nearby store; they're stockpiled with all sorts of unique tanks." The room went silent, and a figurative light bulb popped over their heads. "That's it!"

* * *

"You want us to sponsor your team? That'd be pretty darn cool!" the young cashier said, his middle aged boss nodding. "It could also work as some great advertising," Fauna added, showing them pictures of their Type 2 Ke-To. "Hmm, I see. I think we can work something out," the man replied, "any documents I should sign?" Excited, Fauna took out several sheets of paperwork that she had printed out earlier.

The shop looked like your average model vehicle reseller, but inside was extremely hard to obtain kits. Some of them were custom produced by the shop, which had a workshop in the back to produce the difficult kits. Vehicles that had never even seen the light of day were showcased, and so were those that were only ideas sketched out by the inventor. A Type 2 Ke-To model kit was also available, sitting with the other Japanese tank kits that the shop owned.

"Aaand, agreed," the owner finished muttered, signing the last piece of work, "we'll see if we can help you with money. Just fight hard and bring us back some glory!" Taking back the documents, the three saluted, and walked to the exit of the shop at once. "Oh by the way! I'll send some cash right now to your account, maybe you can find some way to use it!" he hollered before they left. "Thank you sir!" Fauna replied happily, and they walked out the door.

"Woo, we found our sponsor!" she beamed, pumping a fist into the air, "now then, how should we put that money to good use?" They walked in silence for a few minutes on the empty sidewalk, Fauna finally wearing something more decent, skin tight running shorts in this matter. It didn't cover up her well curved body, but it was something. She took out her phone, checking her account's balance. "Is this enough for anything…?"

Sarah and Albert looked over, and they frowned in thought. "I don't think that'll get us a new vehicle, that's for sure. Ammunition's covered, so maybe we should look for some upgrades?" Albert suggested. "Great idea! Let's go to the surplus, maybe we can snag something for ourselves."

* * *

The surplus was filled with used weapons; machine guns and cannons were also available. Browsing through the selection, the trio stopped before an autocannon that looked brand new. "Well, this is the Breda 35, the main armament of the AB 41," Fauna muttered. "You mean that freakish armored car on our team has a brother?" Sarah joked. "Yes, and it was armed with this," Albert concluded.

They checked the price tag, and there would be no way their current balance could cover this. "Can I help you three?" boomed a deep voice next to them, and they turned their heads to see a dark-skinned man wearing a t-shirt and an aviator jacket. "Yes sir, do you have any more of these?" The man scratched his chin. "Yeah, come with me to the back."

He led them to the back of the shop, turning on the lights and revealing a stockpile of rather worn out equipment. "Over there on the floor," he pointed out, and they found the rusted cannon on the floor. It no longer had any coating that once covered its exterior, and it looked like it had been peppered by machine gun fire. "Looks like something we're used to…" Sarah muttered, wiping her hand on the gun and revealing her blackened hand.

"There are also several extra parts for that thing in the other guns lying around," the man added, pointing at the other wrecks left, "I don't care what you do to anything here, but if you come out with a decent piece of equipment, I'll let you walk out with it for only 10% of what'd you'd have to pay from that other gun." It was a sweet deal, and Fauna shook the man's hand in agreement. "We'll do that."

The man nodded and walked out of the room, and the three began to look around. "So how are we going to do this?" Sarah asked. Fauna hummed, and pointed at the scattered guns. "Put them in the center, and we'll use the one that looks the best at a base."

And so they worked, using a gun that had a barrel and frame in good condition, but its internal parts had been stripped clean. It was a difficult task that took several hours, but eventually, they had stripped the other guns clean of usable parts and had a decently adequate weapon now in their midst. "Fucking fantastic work, team," Fauna chuckled, marveling at their work.

They picked it up together and carried it out of the room, the shopkeeper looking at them impressed. "That's a mighty fine gun you've put together. Think it'll hold up?" he asked, holding his hand out. Fauna handed her credit card, and grinned. "We've made things in worse condition hold up." The man handed back the card, and waved as they left. "Have some good tanking."

* * *

"Does it _look_ like we know how to install that thing?" Hanna asked, as they stood outside the woodland garage, the AB 40 and Ke-To standing side-by-side. The 20mm gun also lied in front of the Autoblinda. "Well, we could always just use the same turret," Sarah wondered. Fauna, Albert and Hanna looked at her like she was crazy. The other crew members nodded in agreement, but didn't get why the three were looking at her funny.

"Oh, of course we can do that. But then we wouldn't even be able to point the gun _down_ , let alone fit inside the turret," Hanna chided, and Sarah swore she would never talk about tanks until she learned more about them. "Anyways, we're going to need a new turret. Any ideas, commander?" Fauna smiled and raised her arms in the air excitedly. "Let's get welding!" she exclaimed, and Albert groaned. "Fauna, we can just buy the turret online. I already checked, and the price is within our budget. Without the gun of course."

Fauna giggled, and punched Albert's shoulder playfully. "You're so useful to us. Alright, we'll purchase it. In the meantime, let's get some training done!" Everyone stood at attention at the word 'training', and they all pumped their fists into the air. "Let's go!"


	3. Some Preparation is Required

**Chapter 3: Prep It Up**

Summer vacation is a great time to have fun with friends. Going to the beach together, hiking, camping, using vehicles of war to smite thy enemies. It's all good. But of course, before one should do any of this, there needs to be a plan on how it's all going to go down.

Apparently what was on Fauna, Sarah, and Albert's minds was how they were going to pack food in or onto the Ke-To. There they were, standing beside the small tank, with crates of rations next to them. Scratching her head in vain, Fauna decided now was not the best time to be thinking about this. Her apparel was still as decent as when they went to the surplus, but it showed off her curves way too well. "I suppose we should take a break, mates," she muttered, kicking a crate in the side, "let's go and meet up with the other team. Maybe have some lunch."

The other two cheered internally, and Sarah brought out her smartphone from one of her vest pockets. She started up a social media application, and opened a chat with the gunner of the AB 40.

 _Walther P08: Hey! Pool says we should eat out._

 _Run &Gun: She's asking us to go on a date? :D_

 _Walther P08: Not now damn it. We're going as a team. :\_

 _Run &Gun: Ah, alright then. I'll go tell Han._

 _Walther P08: See you at the garage._

She turned the screen off and repocketed the device. "So Fauna, have any idea where we're going to eat?" Fauna put her thumb in the air, grinning widely. "Aye!"

* * *

A couple hours later, the seven man platoon was sitting around a large table, in a bustling downtown, family-owned burger joint. "I didn't know you liked burgers, Pool," Hanna muttered, skimming through the menu. Pool waved her hand nonchalantly, and replied, "Oh no, no. I just love the milkshakes here." That was an understatement, as most likely the real reason was because the restaurant looked rather unique. There was World War II memorabilia all over the place, and pictures of a young man in army fatigues hung at the epicenter, most likely a veteran. The staff also wore clothing of soldiers from the era, from many different countries.

A young, blonde, US Marine waitress came over, a cheerful smile on her face and a notepad in hand. "Can I take y'alls orders?" she asked happily. "Uhh, five cheese Hamburg-ers, a Devil Dog, a basket of fries, and seven vanilla milkshakes please," Sarah muttered audibly from behind the menu she held, but then Fauna nudged her slightly, "wait, scratch that. Six vanilla and one chocolate." The waitress scribbled the list, and saluted. "Comin' right up!" She walked away, shouting the order to the kitchen.

Hanna and Fauna began discussing about the competition, but the other five weren't exactly in the same mindset. At first it started out well. "So, did you guys attach the 20mm yet?" "Oh yeah, the turret's running smoothly too." "Great." And then they just gave up.

"Guuuys, this is our second year of highschool already!" cried the main driver of the Autoblinda, Marelda, banging her fist to the table, "Doesn't _anyone_ have a date already?!" Albert and Stuart, the other driver of the AB, shook their heads as if apologizing. Jordan and Sarah however didn't say a word, their faces a warm shade of pink. "Ohhh, I see how it is," Marelda snickered, a smirk growing on her face as she twirled one of her brown strands of hair, "going to keep it a secret?~"

"Shut it, Mare," Sarah mumbled, gripping Jordan's hand from under the table, "we're just not going to open up about it yet." Marelda was grinning widely now, and she laid back in her chair. "If that's how you waaant iiiit!~" Jordan groaned, and began playing with a straw to hide his embarrassment.

"Hey!" Fauna shouted, "Stop blabbering amongst yourselves, we need to discuss something that just came up!" The others nodded, and leaned in closer to the two commanders. "Right, so Hanna just mentioned to me that there's going to be a foreign team joining in as well." Hanna pulled out a small sheet of paper, which was written in Japanese and English. "Saunders University High School, they're Japanese students that study in an American oriented school," Hanna said, letting everyone take a look at the paper, "it says here that they're one of the best in the Japanese league of tanking, or Senshado as they call it, and they want to try out Tankathlon as well."

"But don't the Japs have their own Tankathlon?" Stuart commented, scratching his black hair and fixing his tie, "Why do they have to come all this way just to compete with us?" Hanna shrugged, spinning a pencil in her fingers. "Maybe they just want to have some foreign relations. Might want to try out for the American Tanking League too I guess." She then pulled out another sheet of paper, data on the tanks they'd be using. "They're sending a delegation of a four tank platoon. Two M22 Locusts and two M8 Greyhounds."

Jordan whistled as he looked at the two vehicles. "Not some bad choices," he chirped, "and both types aren't too hard to buy off the market." Hanna hummed in agreement. "We're to avoid this platoon at all costs, as we don't know their skill level, and we simply just don't have enough vehicles to take all of them out." Everyone agreed, except for Fauna, who groaned tiredly.

"I say we take them out and get more poin-" "Here's your meal girls and boys!" the waitress interrupted, putting the food onto the table. Hanna slid the Devil Dog, which was a chilidog, over to her, and the rest took a Hamburg-er while Fauna was given the basket of golden fries. "Your milkshakes will be over in just a second!~" the waitress said cheerfully, and she saluted once more before leaving them.

"Like I was saying, we should just go aggressively and take them out if we see them," Fauna said, waving a fry in the air before putting it in her mouth, "better than letting them murder everything in their path. I mean, this competition works on a point system." She let that thought hang in the air, and it left everyone with different plans on how they were going to play it out should they meet Saunders. None of them really noticed when the milkshakes arrived, as they were too deep in thought to really focus on the food.

After several minutes of silence, everyone was finishing up their meals. "By the way, what's the prize if we win this?" Albert asked, wiping his mouth from the delicious burger's crumbs. Fauna grinned widely, and flashed a brochure, slamming it into the table before sipping on her chocolate milkshake. "Take a look for yourselves!" Clearly interested, everyone's attention turned to the glossy paper, and they began reading. "Indiana State Tankathlon…" Sarah muttered, "Deathmatch… Teams Allowed… Prizes…" All eyes widened at the last section.

"$500,000 dollars and a brand new vehicle?!" Marelda exclaimed, "T-That's… How many a person?!" "Around seventy thousand a crewmember," Stuart replied, scratching his chin, "not to mention the cost to repair and resupply our ammo afterwards…" "Still! That's a lot of cash!" Sarah added, standing up suddenly with her hands on the table, "And a new ride too! That's gotta be good!"

It was mutually agreed that 1) It was a hefty prize, 2) It would let them chill in terms of money for a looong time, and 3) A new tank was greatly appreciated. "Well, I guess we should go back and practice then, aye?" Fauna wondered, putting her fist in the air. "Aye!" everyone exclaimed, pumping theirs up as well. They streamed out of the establishment, with Fauna and Hanna paying from what the team had gathered together beforehand. "Think we'll win this?" Hanna asked, receiving the receipt. "Of course we will," Fauna replied, smirking as she opened the door for them both.

* * *

"God damn it, get out of their gun's line of fire!" Fauna shouted, the Ke-To swerving deeper into the forest as they were given chase by the much faster Autoblinda. There were multiple shots flying around them, some just grazing the side of the Japanese vehicle, others slamming into the trees all around them. Fauna angrily bonked Albert's head, growling, "Turn the bloody turret!" Albert complied, and turned the mechanism, whirring the turret to life and pointing the gun at the armored car gaining on them very quickly.

"Shoot! Fire! Just fucking knock them out already!" A round thumped out of the short cannon, missing severely as the Italian vehicle easily swerved to dodge it. They returned the favor by giving the Ke-To another burst of 20mm rounds, peppering the turret and almost setting the engine on fire. It seemed that the end was near, and the AB 41 was right behind them.

"Full stop!" Sarah slammed on the brakes, and the gears cut off with the mechanism forcing it to a complete stop. The Autoblinda did not see it coming quickly enough, and their vehicle slammed into the small tank with a deafening crack. "Agh!" screamed the driver, who was close enough to hear. Albert loaded another round, but Fauna held his shoulder to stop. "Good game!" Mr. Walthers radioed in, "You guys really need to focus on the enemy's movements!"

Hanna was panting heavily, and could only put up a single finger that wasn't really the nicest gesture in the book towards Fauna. "That's. Enough. For. Today," she stammered, melting back down into the turret. "Alright then, so 3 to 4, we win today's session mates!" Fauna called into the tank, and the two crew members sighed in relief. "Let's go fix up those dents and holes again…"

The two vehicles were driven back to the garage and the two teams spent the night fixing them to their original conditions. "This is really tiring," Sarah muttered, polishing the Ke-To's exterior, "we really should hire a few mechanics." Albert slumped on the top of the turret, having inserted the last round of ammunition. "Maybe we'll get some later on…" he muttered, poking one of the rivets.

"Oh, we are getting one," Fauna mentioned as-a-matter-of-factly. "...Eh?" "Ah, nevermind that. Let's go have dinner at my place!" she said, changing the subject. As if the topic had been completely thrown away, everyone grabbed at the chance for free food. "Alright!"

Sarah was following them as they filed out, when her father grabbed her shoulders. "Don't do anything funny now, Sar." Sarah smirked, playfully saluting before catching up with her friends.

* * *

The next morning was rather lazy, and it turned out that the team had slept over at Fauna's. Sarah had woken up first, which was a rather unusual start. She stretched her arms widely, squinting her eyes as sunlight beamed onto her face. "Ugh, it's so early..." she groaned, trying to fall back asleep. But her body was already fresh and denied that action, so she slapped her cheeks to get into gear. "Gah, it's the competition day, isn't it?!" She looked to her side, seeing Albert sleeping peacefully, his breaths so warm and calm. _I'm surprised he hasn't gotten a girl yet._

 _Wait, why is he sleeping with me?!_ Blushing slightly, she poked Albert's cheek lightly. "Oi, get up." Albert squirmed a little, but he eventually woke up as well. "Wha... Good morning Sarah." He straightened his body up, yawning calmly and looking around the room. "We had a sleepover?" he asked, watching as Sarah started waking everyone up. "Yeah, it looks like we did," Sarah grumbled, shaking Fauna, "and if we don't hurry, we're going to be late."

At the mention of 'late', Fauna pushed Sarah aside, looking around frantically. "What the hell are we still doing here?! MOVE!" Everyone woke up straight, and they jumped out of their sleeping places to start off the new day.

It's time to compete!


	4. Let's Begin the Competition

" _In preparing for battle I have always found that plans are useless, but planning is indispensable." - Dwight D. Eisenhower_

 **Chapter 4:** **Let's Begin the Competition**

Although arriving rather late, Fauna and co. weren't the only ones to oversleep. As each crewmember was helping to make sure their respectable vehicles were battle worthy, more teams were making their way to the orientation point. Booths were set up with food, spectators gathered all around giant screens which would give a live feed of any interesting battles that would take place around the state. In this single area, hundreds of the thousands of teams that signed up gathered, filling the field with steel. Quite possibly there would be many unique armored vehicles that would engage in the state-wide competition.

At the epicenter of the field was a huge crowd of people gathered around a stage, most of the attendees being the team commanders who would then pass on the word to the rest of the team. Tt wasn't that necessary though, as there were speakers set up all over to tell anyone in range about what was being talked about. "...Remember, be sure to only engage in the points located on the map the app has." Fauna took out her android to check the map once more.

The app was labelled '7th Indiana Tankfest', with a little silhouetto of a T1 Cunningham on it. Opening the app, she logged her team in, prompting the phone to load for a few moments. Once it finished, a map of Indiana in full was displayed with a little dot marking the spot where her team was. Zooming in on it separated the dot into two circles, and finally maximizing it all the way showed her a digitized live feed of the Type 2 Ke-To and Autoblinda 41 with crew, but none of the tanks near it were included on screen. She zoomed out once more, and pressed the button to show where the points of battle could be taken place, and the areas were marked red in contrast to the green map.

"Other than that, there isn't much more to say. See you all next Sunday." The announcer clicked off the microphone, and the crowd dispersed to their respective vehicles. Hanna stretched her arms up while walking next to Fauna, who was pocketing her smartphone once more. "Think we'll be fine still?" she asked, only one of her eyes opened. Without a word, Fauna nodded, and spat in the direction of a random team's vehicle, the commander of the CV-33 glaring at her as they passed.

After a few minutes of walking in silence, the two finally arrived around the edge of the encampment, where they spotted their teammates getting together the last preparations before the competition started. "Yo, we're back mates!" Fauna hollered, which got their attention. A few of them waved, but the others merely acknowledged them and continued to work. "Glad they're serious about this," the British girl chuckled, patting Albert's back as he loaded another 37mm round into the turret.

Everyone was wearing the same clothing, as decided by Fauna; simplified British dress uniforms, with hunting jackets stowed onboard. "Oh yeah, Fauna," the loader mentioned, cracking his knuckles as he paused his work, "when are we going to meet our mechanics?" Out of the blue, there was a hum in the air, which became a large roar of a car engine, and then the screech of a brake as it came to a halt behind Fauna with a beep of a horn. She turned around, looking at the new arrival which had so gracefully decided to arrive.

It was a Willys MB, or commonly known as the jeep, with an M2 Browning machine gun mounted on it. On board were five passengers, which were the driver, someone in shotgun, the gunner, loader, and an extra man in the back. The one in the passenger's seat stood up and casually jumped out of the car, walking over to Fauna with swagger. It looked to be a senior highschool student, wearing aviator glasses, a hunter's camo jacket, and some grease on his cheeks. He flashed a grin as he stood in front of Fauna, taking off his aviators.

"Sorry we're late," he greeted in a thick southern accent, "Jerry had to take a piss." The driver overheard, and lifted his fist from behind the dashboard, an equally dashing smile on his face.

"Dave?" Albert questioned, clearly surprised, "Since when did you know how to fix tanks?" The senior chuckled, passing next to Albert and clasping his hand on the boy's shoulder. "Ever since I started working for the school tankery team." He then took his hand off and patted Albert's head. "Sweetheart," he added sarcastically, walking away and going towards the tank. Albert took it seriously however, and shook his head to get the feeling off while his cheeks went pink.

Dave looked at the two vehicles for a few moments, before nodding with his fists on his hips. "Alright, the tools we have can keep these in running order," he confirmed, facing Fauna, "just keep us safe out there." Fauna inclined her head, putting her thumb up as always. "That's good, I want to be capable of fighting until the end. And don't worry, we'll all make it through, I assure you."

The came the running footsteps of Stuart, who was panting loudly and gripping a sheet of paper in his hands. "I've *pant* got *huff* the *wheeze* info!" His balance broke suddenly, and he tripped over his shoes, landing into the hot summer ground with a thud. But his hand was raised in the air, keeping the paper safe from dirt. Hanna calmly walked over, taking the sheet from him. "Thanks Stu," she said, crouching and patting his back. Stuart mumbled something from underneath, most likely, "you're welcome."

Hanna read the paper over and handed it to Fauna. "The Flying Tankers Volunteer Group. That's the name the Saunders delegation is going with," Hanna explained, " so that the team doesn't get in trouble if things go salty." Fauna looked at the information, frowning. "They're currently at the Indianapolis starting point, so they're not that far either," she muttered. The mere thought of the professional tankery team taking part put them in unease once more.

"Let's just focus on those in Muncie first," Hanna suggested, "most of the teams here are small and not too threatening." Looking around, Fauna unhappily agreed. The nearby vehicles weren't all too menacing, and the size of the teams weren't large either. "But looks can be deceiving," Fauna thought out loud, sitting on the side of the Ke-To. The others nodded in agreement, the silence suddenly becoming overbearing.

"*Cough* Well, we better get going now," Dave commented, pointing at the large trucks beginning to line up all around the checkpoint. A few teams had already started loading their vehicles onboard, and then everyone began to scramble towards their respective armor. Albert entered the turret, followed by Fauna, and the last inspection was made as the engines rumbled to life. "Ammo, check!" Albert reported. "Fuel's check as well!" Sarah added. There was a honk from the jeep outside. " _Everything's good on our end!_ " the radio crackled with Hanna's voice.

Fauna didn't answer however, her heart still slightly uneasy with all the odds starting to pour against her. She even began to wonder if the cash and the tank prize was even in their line of sight. _Do our vehicles even stand a chance?..._

There was then a tap on her knee, and Fauna looked down to see Albert staring at her with his green eyes looking a rather sharper color than normal. He looked at her concerned, and asked, "We should get going, right commander?" Unable to take her eyes off him, Fauna nodded slowly, her earlier thoughts washing away. "Yeah… We should."

Bringing the microphone closer to her mouth, she activated the radio set. She took a deep breath, and built up her courage once more to grin widely, her energy coming back tenfold, and she gave in a powerful order:

"Pool Platoon, move out!"

* * *

After an hour of heavy hauling, the Autoblinda, Type 2, and jeep were dropped off near a small pond. The truck then sped off to deliver the other team that was also inside, to which Fauna's team waved goodbye. They had a normal conversation the entire trip, but nobody talked about tanks, lest they reveal important things that wouldn't help them in a competition like this.

The GPS tracker had been disabled temporarily, but as soon as the truck was out of sight, there was a 'ding!' on Fauna's phone, and they were pinpointed to be at Indy Lakes, which had been emptied for the the competition's use. There was a thin tree line surrounding them, but otherwise there'd be no cover here if they didn't work quickly. "Alright fast, the competition can't start until all the teams have been deployed, but we can always get ready first!" Fauna shouted from the Ke-To's turret, "I want recon on all sides, see if we can spot the enemy first!"

Hanna and Dave saluted briskly, and both vehicles sped off in separate directions, but didn't go too far before coming to a halt. Fauna could just barely see them by squinting her eyes, and then she took out her sniper scope to scan her surroundings. Through the lense, she could see the AB and jeep, their commanders standing in the turret or beside their respective vehicles, looking into the distance with pairs of binoculars.

Fauna swept to the right slowly, keeping an eye on every possible point of attack. She noticed the empty parking lot, seats that would be used for casual fishermen, and a small playground for the kids to use while their parent's caught lunch. It all felt extremely eerie, as if someone could already be watching them since before. Fauna's spine shivered slightly, but she kept watching. _I hope that Albert didn't forget my fucking tea set, scenery's so cold that even the summer sun can't warm my freezing nerves._

She noticed a speck of movement in the distance, and tried to increase the power of the lense to its max, but it only kept what was in her sights just barely visible. "I've got something to the north east, that small building over there," Fauna muttered into the radio, "can anyone confirm, over?" There was static on the other end, but finally Dave responded, " _Yeah, I've got it. Can't tell what it is, but I see some smoke, over_." "Alright, that's where we'll be heading first, out."

* * *

After an hour more of waiting, there a beep on Fauna's phone, and she turned the screen on to show a notification reading, 'Game On, Get 'Em Rekt!'. "Move out!" she ordered, and the trio of vehicles made haste towards the building that was marked earlier. Back at the starting point, the crowds cheered as the screens began giving a the live feed of the teams moving at high speed towards their destinations. Some would be aggressive, while others would hold down objective points from where they could coordinate attacks to multiple areas. All that mattered was that tanks were destroyed, and they survived.

"And now the Seventh Indiana Tankfest has begun, where our contestants will fight a week, 24/7, for the prize of five hundred kay and a spankin' brand new vehicle!" the announcer boomed, "I'm Allan Bowman with my friend Joey Smith, and we'll be giving you full coverage of the highlights bound to come!" The watchers cheered, among them Mr. Walthers. "Go Pool Platoon!" he shouted at the top of his lungs, other fans also cheering with him. _Make me proud, Sar!_

Now halfway to their destination, Fauna took out her scope once more to check. Indeed, it appeared that there was a tank there, an M2 Combat Car sitting behind a small fence. Squinting closely however, Fauna noticed there was no movement whatsoever, and it should've been obvious by now that their team was closing in at a fast pace. Looking around though, she couldn't see anything else that could possibly shoot at them. "What the hell?" she muttered out loud. Looking behind her, the Willys MB stayed away at a reasonable distance, with the AB 41 trailing just a meter behind.

Fauna looked straight at Hanna, and motioned for her to take point. The AB 41 sped faster, and began to move in front of the Ke-To. Still, there was no retaliation whatsoever. " _Fauna, did you check that building yet?_ " The commander's eyes widened, and she quickly lifted the scope once more, looking at the rooftop of the building. There was a glint of sunlight, and she quickly realized that a pair of binoculars were staring right at them. She then heard a soft thump in the distance, and Fauna shouted into the radio, "DISPERSE!"

Large explosions landed right where they were about to move towards, spitting dirt and patches of grass into the sky. Some of it coated the Ke-To, and Fauna spat out some gravel that had gotten in her mouth. "Hanna, move the fuck up and knock those bloody gits out of the competition!" She noticed the fast silhouette of several artillery rounds jumping from behind the building. "Shake 'em off, don't let that arty end it for us now!"

The AB 41's engine charged up faster, and soon left the Ke-To in the dust. Sarah turned the Japanese tank to a hard left, to which Jerry followed suit. More explosions rocked the earth, making Fauna's heart pound extremely hard. She looked through her scope, her movement shaky as the loud detonations had made her slightly dizzy. The AB 41 was no longer in her line of sight, but it had apparently bypassed the M1 without any threat.

* * *

What Jordan found was a turkey shoot. An easy line of several self-propelled guns were ready for reaping, and he fired a 20mm shell at each one, ripping apart the enemy team like a knife through butter. They all seemed to be using Lorraine Schleppers, which was of course an extremely deadly artillery piece when used correctly.

Although the rounds would have easily killed the occupants inside the vehicle, the ammunition used for tankathlon was slightly specialized, although not as great as the ones used for tankery. This was proven as there were holes punctured clean right into the SPG's armor, but there were no screams of pain coming from the crew. Quite basically, the round will break into dust the instant it penetrates into armor, and won't do any further harm. It will however count as vehicle damage. This was only noticeable now, as Jordan thanked god that he wasn't becoming a mass murderer in this brief stint.

"All five vehicles down, that's a great start!" Hanna gleefully cheered, but then there was a revving of an engine behind them, and the M1 started to chase them down with its machine guns blazing. "Oh scheisse, Stuart, get us away from them!" The rear driver, happy to get something done, drove the vehicle backwards to that it could run from the angry artillery spotting crew. They weren't exactly great shots either, but Stuart still kept their guns off of their behind. Jordan was struggling to get the turret turned quickly to face the front again, but it was indeed a slow task to be done, not to mention that the gun was heavier than the old one.

"Fauna, get over here!" Hanna shouted into the radio, pointing her Breda 38 machine gun and trying to shoot at the M1, though it didn't help that both her and the enemy's vehicles were swerving around. " _Calm your tits, we're firing._ " On that note, a small gunshot was heard, and the M1 took a hit to the rear, popping a white flag from its machine gun turret. Looking out the hatch for a moment to make sure everything was clear, Hanna slumped back into her chair, relieved. " _Let's go get some repairs done now, that was a good start._ " Fauna said over the radio. The AB 41 started to slow down, and Hanna put her microphone to her mouth tiredly. "Roger that."

* * *

Quickly getting to work, Dave's team brought out the welding kits and began to burn the Autoblinda's armor back into its normal condition. Many of the high-caliber machine gun rounds had went through, although none of them destroyed anything vital. "It's a good thing this layout is relatively spaced," Dave muttered from behind his welding mask, "it slows down the rounds really well."

Fauna continued to watch their surroundings, carefully making sure no one came to take them out. Hanna was snacking on a small protein bar, watching as the enemy team painfully sulked out of the match, being one of the first confirmed defeats of the game. "Fuck you all," one of them growled, throwing a pebble at the Ke-To. Fauna was about to jump out of the turret and smack the barmy brat before Albert pulled her back inside by the leg. "Just keep watch Faun, don't mind them," he cooed, calming down the angry commander. Fauna crossed her arms, tapping her foot impatiently on the steel floor. "Fine, whatever then."

The mechanic team shut off their flames, and all stood up to check their handiwork. "Alright, armor's done, let's boogey out of here!" Dave shouted, and everyone got ready to move out once more.

"It's going to be a long week."


	5. The First Night

**Chapter 5:** **The First Night**

The sun was beginning to set on the state of Indiana, but the roaring of engines continued to pierce through the evening. Gun shots could be heard here and there, far enough from normal civilization to hear, but close enough to make the wildlife run in terror. With a blanket of darkness covering the plains of The Hoosier State, movement became much slower, with battles coming to a close. But not everyone had gotten the signal, and some teams in fact became much more aggressive in movement, picking off the others who weren't prepared.

Not being one of those night fighters, Pool Platoon had stopped at an abandoned farm, parking their vehicles inside a large barn. The mechanic team began working on the tank and armored car in the dim light of several lanterns, with Dave himself taking care of some damage that had been taken by the jeep. Everybody else got to work with nightly patrols. They weren't allowed to leave a vehicle for more than 50 meters, or they'd be counted as dead, and they have to be ready at any moment to jump back inside their vehicles to continue fighting.

The first for the night shift were Albert, Joey, Jordan, and Sarah. The four watched the north and south in pairs while the others made dinner or went to sleep; every moment of rest was crucial for a crew member's performance in the field. After eating, Marelda began distributing the rations to the watch teams. "Keep your eyes open, you two!" she said cheerfully to Albert and Joey, who nodded as they both put a spoonful of mashed potatoes in their mouths. It was decided that potatoes and pre-cooked sausages were what the entire platoon would be bringing, so meals with the spuds in them were to be expected.

As she gave the other team their food, Marelda grinned mischievously. "Don't do anything funny you two.~" She skipped away as Sarah almost threw her food back at the girl. Jordan chuckled awkwardly, putting his food on his lap as he put a small sausage into his mouth. "Not like I was planning anything," Sarah grumbled, losing her appetite and putting her meal beside her. She stared at the moon that was beginning to appear in the evening sky, its shape only half of what the large sphere actually was.

Smiling, Jordan put a spoonful of potato in front of Sarah's mouth. Sarah blushed, but opened her mouth as Jordan gently placed the food inside. "No need to be grumpy, Sarah," he chuckled, putting the same amount of mashed potato in his own mouth. Chewing it, Sarah nodded, picking her food up and starting to eat. Carefully watching the outskirts of the farm, both teams were careful of any vehicles that might pass by.

Back near the tank, the mechanics joined the rest of the platoon as they had dinner around a lantern. "There aren't any problems with our rides now," Dave reported, "but if we don't do something fast, we're going to run out of fuel by next noon." Fauna stopped chewing, her face becoming uneasy. "Logistics is the ball and chain of armored warfare," she muttered, looking at her Ke-To that might not even be moving anymore if they didn't do something. "Heinz Guderian," Hanna added, "so, what're we going to do?"

Fauna pulled out her phone, checking the app's map for some solution. And of course there was only one. "An hour's drive from here is the closest fuel deposit," she explained, pocketing her device once more, "if we get can get there, we can most likely obtain some gas." Stuart raised a finger. "That would put us at a tactical disadvantage though, right?" he asked, "This place is just screaming 'trap!'" Hanna and Fauna both nodded, finishing their food. "But if we're going to keep moving, we'll have to push in," the British girl finished, stretching her arms as she stood up, "I'm going to sleep on it, see you lot later."

As the commander walked away, Hanna also went to nap, leaving Stuart, Marelda, and the jeep crew to themselves. "So, what are the chances we'll actually win this?" Marelda asked, fiddling with a blade of hay. Stuart looked up from his food, answering, "75 percent considering we can make it through the first half of the week." "Those are some good numbers then," Dave said, convinced. He crossed his arms, and looked back at his team. "Like I said before, just keep us safe and those tanks will stay in running order."

"Armored car," Stuart commented, "it's an armored car." Marelda rolled her eyes. "Even you called it a tank when we first saw the Autoblinda, don't make yourself look smart." The boy coughed, his face a faint tint of red. "F-Fine…" The mechanics laughed, and Dave stook out his hand. "Don't worry, we'll remember that," he said, "I'm David Russels by the way." The others also began introducing themselves. "Mark Jones," called out the gunner of the .50 caliber machine gun, his dark skin the color of a milky chocolate bar.

Stuart accepted David's handshake, and the last two introduced themselves. "I'm Emma-" "And last but not least is Kyla!" the brunette loader of the machine gun cheered, and then she was tackled by the other girl to quiet her down. "You do realize there could be people right outside, right?" she hushed. The girl underneath giggled, sticking her tongue out. "Sorry~," she replied quietly, "but that's why we have people up there, right?" Emma sat up on Kyla, looking up at one of the watch teams, brushing aside some of her night black hair that was blocking her view. "Yeah, I guess you're right…"

Up watching the northern sector, Albert hugged his legs to his chest as he kept his eyes glazed open, with Joey casually holding a pair of binoculars in his hand, up to his eyes. Albert was humming to himself softly, perking Joey's attention. "Opening of _Strike Witches_?" he asked without taking his eyes off the front. Albert stopped swaying his head from side to side, and blushed as he was caught off guard. "U-Uhm yeah," he replied quietly, "you've watched it?" Joey nodded, popping a sausage into his mouth. "Yeah, though I preferred the _World Witches_ manga. Because you know, tanks." Albert hummed in agreement, looking down at the empty pen that used to house grazing cows.

"You know, I learned to shoot in a place like this," Albert mused, remembering his time hunting with his father. Every Sunday after church during 8th grade summer vacation, they would go off into the forest near the family farm where his grandparents lived, and spent all day tracking down deer and other big game. There was this one time when they almost got a wild boar, but it scampered away right between his father's legs. Albert laughed at the memory, but his happiness vanished a moment later. "I wish me and dad were still close like back then…" Joey looked at him curiously for a few seconds, but decided not to ask about it. "I see… So, uh, how did you get caught up in all this tanking stuff?"

Albert looked up at Joey, and said, "Oh, well I was always close to Fauna. Even though she always teased me due to my appearance, we both share a love in history. Military history was always her strong point, and I learned a lot about war from her." Remembering something, he took out a picture from his chest pocket, which showed a picture of Fauna taking a selfie of the three standing in front of a newly fixed Type 2 Ke-To. Albert was putting up a peace sign and Sarah was rolling her eyes with a smirk on her face. Fauna looked to be the happiest of all though, her free arm gesturing towards the tank as if it were her new boyfriend.

"She was so impressed with Sarah's find. A Japanese tank that was very limited in production, and in the middle of the US? It's such a weird meeting. But she got it fixed up right away, and then wanted to test it out." Joey looked at the photograph, nodding in acknowledgment. "So you went straight for tankathlon?" Albert shook his head. "No, we actually signed up for the school tanking team first." He then thought about it bitterly. "They laughed at us, saying our vehicle was too small to be used correctly. But Fauna didn't give up, and actually challenged them, getting us into a one-on-one fight with their recon tank."

The memory came rushing back to Albert, and he began retelling it. There he was, only recently having gotten accustomed to the Ke-To's armament and how to turn the turret. And now he was looking down the sights and up against a veteran crew using an M5 Stuart. They were across from each other on the old school running track, all the sports equipment having been cleared away for the tankery team to use. The team itself was sitting in the bleachers, cheering for their reconnaissance as the afternoon sun blared onto the two tanks.

The Stuart had viciously sloped frontal armor, and Albert was extremely unsure that they could even take this vehicle on. " _It's even taller than us!_ " he remembered Sarah yelling to Fauna. The commander proceeds to burst into laughter. " _Just move it, Sar!_ "

The tank then lurched forwards awkwardly, Sarah having only driven the tank the night before. The engine however had charged up smoothly, complimenting Fauna's handiwork. They then began running towards the enemy quickly. " _Bring the gun to bear on our left!_ " Fauna shouted towards Albert. Frantically, he nodded and started turning the turret to the left. He knew the M5 Stuart was charging towards them as well, and stopped turning the turret when Fauna gripped his shoulder. " _Hard right!_ "

The Ke-To leaned to the right violently, and Albert could hear a round fly next to the turret, a small explosion right behind them. " _High explosive?! Those bloody-!_ " Fauna growled, and Albert watched as she peaked outside of the hatch, starting to yell curse words towards the Stuart.

"That day I learned five new ways to show I am pissed at someone," Albert commented before he continued, "and then she told me to shoot…"

The 37mm erupted for the first time in decades, Albert having not yet tried it yet. The occupants of the tank went silent, Albert shivering at the feeling of firing the cannon. " _W-Woah, that felt good_ ," he whispered. Looking up at Fauna, the girl seemed to have frozen into place, and obviously her panties were in full view, but were they… She wouldn't have pissed herself, so…

" _Alberta you perv, go load the damn thing and shoot again!_ " Fauna shouted at him angrily, though her face was hot pink. Nodding profusely, he fumbled with another armor piercing round, ramming it into the gun and taking aim once more. He used the practice his father taught him. _Take your aim… Breath in… Steady… Good, now fire._

Another round launched from the barrel sailing towards the target at high speeds. But that very day, Albert learned something about tanks that he didn't know before: gun mantlets are thick. The round ricocheted off, and the Stuart retaliated with another HE round. The shell blasted the Ke-To slightly, making the smaller tank lean on its side slightly, but they continued to run, and both vehicles began circling each other. Albert tried firing another round at them, but the round simply bounced off the sloped turret. " _How do I take this thing out?!_ " he yelled frantically, getting another AP round. But Fauna cut him off, and pointed to the high-explosive shells they also had.

" _Hit the tracks first and stop them!_ " Confused, Albert just followed her orders and put the round inside and aimed for the Stuart's running gears. As the shell flew towards the tank at a slower velocity, a flash came from the enemy's gun, and there was an ear piercing screech throughout the Ke-To. The M5 had finally fired an AP round, and knocked the vehicle out of the game. " _Aw man…_ " Albert sulked into his seat, but peered out of his sights one last time, looking at the now broken track of the Stuart. _Oh, looks like I managed to stop them anyways._

"They still didn't accept us, but finally they complimented our ability in dueling with their lightest tank," Albert finished sarcastically, "and the gunner apologized to Fauna for spamming HE rounds." Joey chuckled, and handed the binoculars to Albert to switch places. "I can imagine her fury already," he said, "so after that, you three joined tankathlon?" Albert nodded, putting the binoculars up to his eyes. "Yep, she didn't want to stop using the tank, and now here we are."

* * *

When it reached midnight, the two watch teams stood up and went back down, awakening the next four to take up the duty. The four of them went to sleep instantly, and the second shift began. The moon was straight up in the night sky now, and Stuart shivered as a calm breeze blew past from his southern post. He gripped onto his uniform, thanking the choice for long sleeved clothing. "It's really cold, isn't it?" he asked Kyla, who had been paired with him. The girl giggled, and playfully punched his shoulder. "No it isn't silly, you just aren't used to it yet!"

An hour later, there was a sudden a glow of bright light in the distance, and a few pops could be heard by the barn's occupants. "Looks like there's a battle happening a few clicks away," David muttered, his partner, Hanna, shifting uneasily. "There might be some trouble tonight if they get anywhere close to here. Shut the lights off." David agreed, and went back down to turn off all the lanterns inside the barn.

Both watch teams became extremely silent, with hope that they would be ignored, and the opposing forces currently in combat with each other wouldn't come towards their direction. But their prayers weren't answered, and the soft hum of several engines started rolling towards their direction. "Oh shit," David muttered under his breath, and Hanna had already started running towards her sleeping teammates. "Guys, wake up!" she said, trying to shake some of them awake. But none of them, especially the watch team, could get up. "Wha's goin' on?" Fauna asked drowsily. "Enemies, right outside!" Hanna hissed. Fauna almost looked like she was going to wake up, but then she rolled back to sleep. "Go take care of them then…"

Holding back her anger, Hanna got into the Ke-To's turret, whistling towards Marelda and David. "Stuart, keep us updated, and you two, get in, _schnell_!" The two nodded, and they ran down, getting into a position each. Stuart quickly got a radio set from the jeep, climbing up to the northern watch point with it on his back, breathing heavily and setting himself up.

David got into the gunner's position, with Marelda in the driver's seat. "Wait, I don't know how to use this vehicle!" Marelda exclaimed, the Japanese compartment foreign to her. Cursing internally, Hanna climbed out of the turret, and pulled Marelda out. "Get into the turret!" Panicking, Marelda just nodded, and scrambled to get into the turret as Hanna took over the driver's position.

 _Alright, let's see if this works._ She started up the ignition carefully, and the engine hummed to life quietly. She wasn't exactly sure how to drive the vehicle, but she had once asked Fauna how to operate the vehicle's components. It seemed those lessons paid off, and she was ready to move the instant that their position was compromised. She was gripping on the controls rather tightly, tapping her foot tensely. "Calm down, driver," Marelda called down, smirking, "we'll be fine." Hanna, although a bit insulted by her condescending tone, felt some of her worry fly away thanks to the temporary commander's words. But she was still watching the outside of the slit cautiously.

"*crackle* _Radio check, over._ " Marelda picked up the microphone, pressing the button on the side to activate the set. "Uhh, reading you loud and clear, over." There was a slight pause on the other end. " _You mean 'I read you five-by-five, over', over._ " "Oh shut the fuck up, Stuart." " _Hehe, also, I'm seeing some activity nearby, be on your guard._ "

On cue, there was a large roar of engines just outside the barn, making the wooden building shake slightly. There was no gunfire like before, but it seemed the engines were slowing down now. _Did they knock the enemy out?_ Then the sound of the vehicles stopped, and Hanna slowly turned the vehicle to face the barn's door. She opened the hatch so she could listen to what might happen clearly. Luckily, it seemed that no one outside could hear the vehicle traversing, but neither did it seem that they would care.

"Get the tank back in shape, girls!" called out who must have been a British girl, and there was the sound of quick footsteps outside the barn. " _They've stopped, seems like they need repairs done, over,_ " Stuart whispered. David slowly inserted an armor piercing round into the gun, but he wasn't sure he'd be able to fire the weapon correctly. _I can use the Ma Deuce, but this big thing? I don't know._

"They're still chasing after us though," growled another girl, who had some sort of Scandinavian accent, "let's get back into the fight and just finish them off before we do anything!" There was an audible sigh, and then a reply, "And only let your team battle? Our weapon's jammed too, for god's sake!" They continued to bicker back and forth. The four watchers calmed down, believing that they'd leave soon, but after several minutes, there was a slight problem from another team member.

"Uhh, ma'am! Our hammer broke, and we don't have any spares." There was a pause, most likely someone silently choking the other girl or something else less violent. "Gah, go look inside the barn, maybe there's one in there," the British girl mumbled. _Oh fuck._ Suddenly, Hanna got an idea. She jumped out of the open hatch, and jumped into the driver's seat of the AB 41, its engine also starting up quietly, and Hanna rolled the vehicle next to the Ke-To.

Then the barn door creaked open, and a silhouette of a girl came inside. "Jarvla, where am I going to find a hammer in here?" She then turned on a flashlight, and when it pointed at the two armored vehicles inside, she dropped it, running back outside. "Oy, what's wrong?" the Scandinavian asked. After a few pants, the girl who had come inside replied, "Enemy. Tanks. Barn." All the work suddenly stopped outside, and not a sound could be heard except for the humming of the two engines at work. One of them peeked their head inside. "Horunge!" she cried out in the Scandinavian accent. Hanna popped her head out. "You're leading a team to our position. Truce and we let you in, or we destroy your tanks."

Cursing in something Swedish, the girl nodded frantically. "Fine!" Hanna smiled, climbing out of the AB's driver hatch, and helping the Swedish girl open the barn door as three vehicles made their way in. When the last crew member of the unknown team got inside, the barn door was shut quickly, and everyone went silent. Stuart looked over from a ledge, and shouted, "More enemies in bound quickly!"

Another sound of tracks rolling on dirt pavement was heard outside, but they didn't stop, only slowing down as they reached the barn. It seemed they were of the same number as the team they were chasing, but they were most likely much more aggressive and looking to eliminate the ones that were being chased down. Everybody that was awake tensed up, quickly getting ready for things to get messy.

"Hey, see them anywhere?!" someone male shouted outside. "No," another replied, "let's keep moving, the fuel's close, I'd rather not waste any of our gas looking for these guys!" The vehicles accelerated once more, and teams inside the barn sighed in relief as the sounds disappeared into the distance.

"That was a close one," the British girl sighed, slumping back onto her vehicle. Having been awoken, Fauna turned on one of the lanterns, looking around bewildered. "Bollocks, what the fuck is going on?!" she exclaimed, looking at the vehicles that had ruined her sleep. "What the hell, a Mark VI, an L-62, and a Swedemobile?" She glared at Hanna. "Why did you let them in?!" Hanna, not one that wanted to say too many words at the moment, smacked Fauna in the head. "Ow! Oy!" "Have a nice sleep?" Hanna asked. Feeling the coldness in Hanna's voice, Fauna bowed like a Japanese schoolgirl would to her angry sensei.

"Sorry, sorry, but seriously, what the fuck?!" she asked again, looking at the three vehicles now sharing the barn with them. "Please, calm down," the other British girl said, standing up straight now, and offering her hand to shake, "we're at a truce as your friend says, and we were being chased down by another team when we came near your barn. I hope you can understand." Looking at the girl's calm composure and friendly gesture, Fauna puffed her cheeks, and gave the girl a firm shake. "So be it."

All the tension finally subsided, and the other team's mechanical crew began working on the Mark VI's broken machine gun and the punctured armor. Fauna had decided to go back to sleep, though still pissed off, leaving Hanna to take care of relations. "Uhm, well, I'm Hanna Barkmann, and that was our team commander, Fauna Pool," she said, smiling nervously. The British girl smiled, bowing her head subtly. "I'm-" "Beautiful, yes we know," David interjected, flashing a grin. There was an awkward silence, before the girl continued, "...As I was saying, my name is Vicky McAllister, overall leader and commander of the Light Tank Mark VIC being fixed at the moment."

"And I'm Astrid Wallin, commander of the Luftvärnskanonvagn L-62 Anti II over there," the Swedish girl added, tossing a ball up and down in her hand. "Uhm, that's mine…" Marelda muttered, her hand slightly tapping where the sphere had been in her skirt pocket. "Oh, is it? Sorry, didn't know." Astrid threw the golf ball back to Marelda. "By the way, that's not a _Swedemobile_ , it's a Terrängbil m/42 KP, or KB-bil if that's too hard to say," Astrid grumbled, offended by how the vehicle was nicknamed.

"I'll be sure to tell Fauna," Hanna assured, "by the way, how're we going to play this out? Just split off when morning comes?" The three commanders began thinking, unsure of how they were going to work out how long the pact would last. "Well… Maybe we could do that, but I have a better idea," Vicky started, "how about we work together to get some fuel?" Astrid tilted her head sideways slightly. "Yes, I think we should do that, what do you think?" "Well…" Hanna turned around, and kicked Fauna in the side.

"Oh for fucks sake, whaaaat?!" Fauna growled, getting up and rubbing her eyes. "They're offering to help us in getting fuel," Hanna replied, helping her get up. Yawning, Fauna nodded in agreement, "alright, fine, let's do that." The three commanders smiled widely, excited that they were going to work together soon.

"Okay, now can I get some bloody sleep now? You wankers are annoying as fuck…"

* * *

The next morning, everyone was shaken away by Stuart, who had offered to finish the entire shift by himself. "Let's move people!" he shouted, his mouth gaping as he started falling drowsy. Everyone got into their positions, some of them trying to get some small talk from the new teams that had joined them, but within minutes everyone was ready. Stuart was helped into his seat by Marelda, who poked his nose, and put her pillow behind his head. "Get some more z's, you deserved it."

Thanking her quietly, the rear driver fell asleep, and the engine started up as soon as Marelda returned to her position. "Ready to roll!" she called out to Hanna.

Back in the Ke-To, Fauna was now fully rested and capable of giving out commands. Once everyone had given reports that their vehicles were set to continue moving, she looked down at her own crew. "All good?" The two nodded in reply, and Fauna looked back up, her eyes gazing over to the other British girl. Now that she was awake, Fauna could actually appreciate how good looking the girl was, but there wasn't any time for that. "What's your team's name again?!" she shouted over the noise of engines. "Bofors Motors!" Vicky replied, cupping her hands around her lips so her voice could still be heard. Fauna put her thumb up, and put the radio set to her mouth.

"Pool and Bofors, let's get ready to go!" David and his squad opened the barn doors, and the five vehicles rolled outside into the morning air, the sun just barely showing over the horizon. Soon after, the Willys MB followed them, and the teams set off towards the fuel collection point.

"Hey Fauna, do you think they'd turn their backs on us when we get the fuel later?" Albert asked as he checked the ammo they still had. The commander didn't answer, but simply stared at the Mark VIC rolling next to them, unable to process how things would go out in the future. "I'm not sure, but you know what they say."

"The enemy of my enemy if my friend."


	6. Fuel Supply

**Chapter 6:** **Fuel Supply**

Staring at a small town in the relative distance, some place called Gary, Vicky McAllister eyed the battlefield with relative discomfort. She could hear guns firing from her position, and there were obvious trails of smoke pouring towards the sky. The crumbling buildings near the town did nothing to hide the dynamic movement of vehicles chasing each other down, hunting others in what could be called a tank hunger game. Entire structures were being ripped to shreds, which if Vicky recalled correctly, were of a somewhat historical importance. Good thing the league would pay for the damage.

Hopefully.

Looking to her left, she could see her friend's tank, the L-62. The open topped anti-aircraft self-propelled gun was an amazingly useful vehicle to be using in a sport with ridiculously thinly armored tanks, albeit being rather unprotected on its own. Astrid herself was minding her own business, almost completely oblivious to the danger they were all going to face. Well, not even almost. When she caught Vicky looking over, she grinned devilishly, adjusting her hairclip so the strands of pale brown hair swept over her left ear. The British girl smiled, knowing exactly what the Swede was thinking.

After that small moment was in check, her vision swept to the right, passing a quick glimpse at the KP-bil, of which normally didn't take much part in battle. She could see the team's commander, who was holding onto the machine gun, looking rather tense. Precisely, she looked like she was pissing herself and about to cry. Poor girl.

Then her eyes landed on the random team they had encountered the last night. Vicky was still unsure on how long their luck would last with these people, and they eventually might have to fight each other. The three vehicles they possessed had no relation whatsoever amongst one another, let alone look alike. There was that jeep, an armored car which Vicky had seen once or twice before, and then there was a Japanese tank that she had _no_ idea what it was. _Well, Liz did play something that did look relatively similar to it in World of Tanks… The Type 98 Ke-Ni if I recall correctly._

The tank's commander was not present in the turret, as she was somewhere forwards their position. Last Vicky had seen, she dove into the tall grass line, holding onto a sniper scope tightly, and her hair filled with green weeds she had pulled straight out of the surrounding ground. From where she observed, Vicky could only slightly guess where she was.

 _She's a brave person, that's for sure._ Having only met the girl, she didn't really have a very broad opinion on Fauna. But the fellow countryman was at first glance a straightforward and daring young woman. Sure she didn't make the finest impression the night before, but Vicky had come to learn that she was actually a very capable commander.

 _Though, she should_ really _wear some pants._ Sighing at the thought, she continued to watch the battles playing out ever since they arrived. Fuel was of course extremely precious, and all the players wanted every last drop of it. Fauna's job was to scout out an entry point which didn't have multiple anti-tank guns trained on it, and after a long wait, it seemed she found one, dashing back to the group with shrubbery still stuck to her hair. It was all messy now, and her uniform was slightly caked with dry dirt. Still, Vicky couldn't help but think that Fauna really was a stunning girl, even though she took no interest in other females. _She must get a lot of love letters from guys, hmm?_

Climbing out of the turret and landing on the ground gracefully, Vicky walked up to greet her.

* * *

 _Bloody hell, these weeds are itchy as fuck!_

For a full 30 minutes, that was all Fauna could think about. It was her own idea to camouflage herself, but she completely regretted the decision. It made her scratch and there was now soil in her hair. She scowled all the way back to the vehicles, grumbling to herself about how to properly hide herself next time.

She shook her head vigorously to get rid of the plants and put her scope back into its bag gently. Seeing the other team's commander start walking up to her, Fauna began running her fingers through her hair to clear out any stray weeds still stuck. It slightly embarassed her if she looked like shite near someone else who looked like an angel on earth and also lead a tank team. _I wonder how she even got into this sport, I'd have thought she'd be in tankery, or afternoon tea._

"Found a safe way in, through a garden next to the church over there," Fauna reported, "but like we earlier hypothesized, there's no way our vehicles will make it in there and out quickly enough without starting a full out skirmish." The other Brit nodded in acknowledgement. "Looks like we'll just have to go with plan B, yes?" she stated when Fauna was face to face, not saying it loud enough for the others to hear. "Yep, looks like it," Fauna replied softly, looking at her Ke-To to avoid the girl's eyes. She could see Sarah looking at her curiously from the open hatch. _Plan B's going to be such a boring affair for all but two vehicles…_

After that, both girls faced the teams directly, and Fauna ordered, "We're going with our second plan! Willy, Bill, you're up!" An angry fist popped out of the L-62's turret, followed by Astrid's furious face. "Refer it to Terräng, you fucking skitstövel!" she hollered, stretching her arms into the air while ranting. Fauna's expression turned to rage, and she pointed at Astrid angrily as she climbed out of the L-62's turret. "The hell did you just call me, you bloody minger?!" The Swedish girl turned her head, sticking out her tongue and pulling one of her eyelids down with her middle finger as she walked towards the KP-bil.

"Pretentious bitch…" Fauna muttered, walking back to her tank as Vicky laughed awkwardly. "Don't worry, she's a nice person once you get to know her," the other commander commented, also getting back into her vehicle. Fauna rolled her eyes. "Sure."

* * *

Gritting his teeth when he heard the command, David grinned like a maniac as he put his aviators on. Plan B required precision timing, high speed, and fast reactions. Something the Willys MB was capable of. As Joey rolled the vehicle to the front, Dave looked over to see the other team's mechanic team moving their own. It was a really wierd looking thing, but it had some merits. Like how long it was. "Must've been a pretty good personnel carrier," David commented to no one in particular.

Other than that, the lead mechanic had no idea how it would fair in actual combat. The original commander had been replaced with another, who Dave remembered as the Swedish girl in charge of the anti-aircraft tank. Even though she wasn't as breathtaking like the Brit, she was still pretty good looking in her own way, and the slick greasemonkey wouldn't mind having a few rounds with her. She was holding onto a weapon befitting the wicked smile spread across her face; dual machine guns that could rip bodies to itty-bitty pieces. Okay, you're not really allowed to point these at people, but you get the point.

As if on instinct, Astrid's eye flicked towards Dave's direction, and she smirked rather smugly, putting up a sarcastic salute towards his direction. Dave nodded in response, replying in a similar respect. Satisfied with their moment of bonding, he looked towards the town, noticeably shaky with the eerie feeling in his mind. _Well, it's not like there are actual ghosts there…_

He patted Joey's shoulder, and the driver slammed the pedal, charging the jeep forwards with its engine roaring, the feeling of adrenaline rushing in a tidal wave across the mechanics. It was a crazy idea, but it might just work, and hell, if they were going to be competing, they may as well get some combat practice out of this. Turning his body around, Dave could see the KP-bil following at a slower pace. _As expected from a much bigger transport_.

It was a dead dash from the trees to the town. Dave could see two armored cars chasing each other around, one of them strapped with fuel barrels on its back. The attacking vehicle had a hard time landing a shot, most likely trying not to blow up the precious liquid housed atop the other's vehicle. Or maybe the swerving was doing that. It was hard to decide when the car you're riding in keeps jumping up and landing on the ground suddenly due to high speed and hidden inclines on the ground. Dave watched as the armored cars disappeared from view, and sighed in relief.

The town was now right before them, but the two vehicles weren't stopping. Behind, Dave could hear the comforting noise of support fire from his teammates, scaring enemies away from the entry point. It worked smoothly, and the mechanics quickly dove into an alleyway between a church and a post office. The transition between the grasslands to smooth cobblestone roads made the wheels of both the jeep and KP-bil slide slightly, but eventually they caught friction and drove at a faster rate.

The town was an American industrial era design, with large factories and shady establishments. Time and lack of caretakers allowed the buildings to fall into rubble, and weeds sprouted here and there. Due to the skirmishes now taking place, it was making the town fall into even more ruin, with track marks skidded onto the roads, walls peppered by machine gun fire, and entire sections of the earth overturned by explosive rounds.

They drove unopposed for a few minutes, although they did encounter a wild CV 33. The crew was buttoned up inside, and it seemed they didn't notice the two running up behind them. "Hot damn, get 'em Jones!" Dave hollered. The Italian tankette was ripped to shreds by the might of the jeep's ma deuce and the dual machine guns of the Bill. Poor Giovanni, judging from the name painted onto the side as it turned around, was helplessly cut down by the intense fire, a white flag popping up seconds after the shooting began. "Alright, great work combat engineers!" They then continued onwards, trying their best to not get in contact with another enemy vehicle.

Coming to a halt under the cover of an abandoned train station, the two crews jumped out of their cars and prepared to work. "Alright, sticking to the plan, we're going to look around for fuel barrels and bring them back to Will and Bill," Dave recapped, taking off his aviators and pocketing them. It was dark enough without them due to the lack of lighting in the station. Looking through a small window, he could see a jeep similar to his run off, someone fumbling to reload what appeared to be a mounted recoilless rifle as a small tankette scurried after it. "We won't be stealing anything as we might not make it out very easily. There's plenty of fuel lying around, we just have to look. Scatter, and try not to die."

Everyone nodded and ran out one by one to hunt down the remaining barrels. "It's Terräng, not Bill, damn it," the Swedish added, glaring at Dave before running off. "Right, right," he muttered in reply. Once everyone but the two drivers had skedaddled, Dave himself ran out a side door, finding himself near a small road. Looking left and right, he collected his thoughts together, and quickly made a dash for the buildings in front of him. His mind went blank and he stopped in cold sweat when the sound of machine gun fire ripped through the air. Thankfully, he noticed that none of it was near him. Laughing giddily, he completed the run, panting out of breath with his arm pushed against the wall to keep him up.

"Whew, I thought I was a _goner_!" he said to no one in particular. Not like anyone was around anyways. Taking a deep breath, Dave once more faced the building. It was a one story house, nothing special. He aimed his shot, and kicked the door down with a single swift movement. It cracked, and then lost its hold, falling into the house and landing with a *thud*. Smiling at a job well done, he slowly entered the old house.

"'Scuse me…" he muttered, looking around nervously. The only light that was available was from the holes in the roof and walls, which only shone onto certain spots and wasn't bright to begin with. Hearing something scurry beside him, he shuddered and turned quickly, his face bewildered until he found out it was a squirrel. _Damn rodent…_

He reached towards his pocket, fishing out a small flashlight usually used to check dark spaces inside of a machine. Flicking it on, he quietly searched the house for anything of use. Finding nothing in the living room, he continued into the nearest area. Entering the kitchen, he accidently stepped on something. *crunch* Looking down, he found out it was an old toy. A sharp breeze coming from an open window caught him off guard, and he almost shit his pants. "Fucking- just let me find a god damn barrel!" With newfound spirit from his urge to leave, he dashed into the next room, probably a bedroom because of the bed. _No shit Sherlock. Oh look._

Resting on the bed was a large red fuel barrel. Pumping his fist into the air silently, he went over and rolled it off. It landed on the ground with a *clang* and the swishing sound of liquid moving around. "Woops," he muttered, walking over to the barrel and crouching, inspecting it for damage. Thankfully there was none, and he looked back up.

"Oh sweet mother of Jesu-." It took a miracle for Dave to stay put. A miracle and a bit of 'release'. He was looking at himself in the mirror, and behind him sat the dry bones of a skeleton. The legs were sprawled forwards, and one of the hands had been holding onto what used to be a right shoulder. Despite his dread, Dave couldn't help but continue to stare at it, goosebumps all over. It was disturbing in all ways possible, the 'happy' skull gazing with empty sockets towards the mechanic. Covering its body was a white suit that had been eaten away by moths, and in its arms an old shotgun that wouldn't have worked anymore from the way the termites had taken care of it.

"I-I'll be taking my leave," Dave stuttered, saluting quickly and pushing the barrel out of the room and then the front door, the wooden floor making the rolling barrel sound like a grumbling thundercloud. He didn't even bothering to look left or right as he exited. He wanted nothing else to do with the house.

But then in pure human nature, his curiosity took over, and his head turned around creakily as he was about to reenter the bush. Of course, it was all just his imagination.

Then there was a flash of white in the doorway and a crooked smile.

Dave ran.

With the barrel of course.

* * *

Mumbling a song casually, Astrid sat on top of three barrels she had found on her own in a span of five minutes, tossing a golden pocket watch she 'acquired' into the air and catching it back into her hand. "My intuition never fails, does it?" she asked rhetorically to the KP-bil's driver. The girl just smiled back nervously, keeping her eyes peeled open and watching for any sudden entrances.

Well, one did appear, in the form of the boy Astrid believed was the head mechanic of the enem- err, allied team. The driver yelped, about to jump back into her hatch. The boy was rolling the fuel quickly, his eyes wild, and what seemed to be stains in all his pubic areas. He then stopped, propped the barrel up roughly, ran into the jeep, and sat down while hiding himself behind the dashboard.

"You, uh, alright there?" Astrid asked, one of her eyebrows raised. She thought the guy was strong willed, but now he just looked scared shitless. He looked at her in confusion. "W-What? Of course I am, just checking under the hood!" He laughed like a maniac, but wouldn't come out from his hiding place. "Sure, whatever," Astrid laughed, tossing over a coin towards the boy. It clanged onto the dashboard, making him shiver.

Giggling, Astrid jumped off the barrels and made her way to the KP-bil. It was her country's only APC for a long time back then, in use since the Second World War until the Cold War. She looked at it proudly; a machine that had seen the test of time and still came out a decent vehicle. "Keep your shitty halftracks, this vehicle bests them all with Swedish engineering!" she beamed loudly before being hushed by the driver. "Astrid, please pipe down, we might be caught if you shout like that," she whispered shyly, her eyes becoming more alert. Laughing out loud, Astrid patted the girl's back roughly, making the driver lean forward suddenly. "If people find us more important than fuel, so be it!"

One by one, more of the team returned to the rendezvous point, each with varying barrels and even simple jugs of fuel. As long as a tank could run, so be it. Looking them over, Astrid nodded approvingly. "Okay then, let's get them mounted on!" The 8 mechanics quickly dragged, pushed, or carried their fuel into the KP-bil, the smaller containers being mounted onto the jeep. The drivers turned on the engines as quietly as they could, and awaited their comrades to get on.

"Heeaave, ho!" Astrid chanted, getting help from the other commander to load the last barrel. It was then fastened, and the crew of the KP-bil hurried inside, laying on the barrels so they wouldn't get their heads shot off. "Let's get going!" the guy yelled, and everyone else quickly got into their positions to leave. As soon as one of the other team's girls had clambered into the jeep, they sped off, breaking through the tracks and beelining for their exit from the town. But then Astrid spotted smoke in the distance, and threw the pocket watch at the jeep commander. Her aim was true, and he turned his head back and stared at her dizzily.

Putting up a signal to turn around, his eyes widened and he patted the driver rapidly to find a detour. They turned into a small road that lead to a complex of outlets, clothing that was out of fashion on display. Weaving through the cracked lane, the two fuel transporters nervously tried to find a way back to their friends. "Hey, kinda makes you wonder why we even drove this far north, doesn't it?" the one of the mechanics asked as the KP-bil made a hard right into another street. Astrid rolled her eyes. "Why wouldn't anyone want to go north?"

* * *

"Why the hell did we even waste fuel going here?!" Joey shouted, once more making a turn to avoid a skirmish happening between several light tanks, "Why didn't we go south from Indianapolis? This place is like Stalingrad with extra freedom!" The jeep rumbled down the street, the KP-bil still catching up. Dave held onto the door to avoid flying out of the vehicle. "Because we were trying to avoid any possibility of coming against-"

A shot rang through the air, and the jeep lurched to the side slightly. Looking around frantically, Dave found the source of the shot. _Uh… that's a…_ "Fuck, it's a Greyhound!" Jones yelled, the Browning machine gun coming to life. The armored car rolled back behind the wall it had came from, but then another shot came from behind. Once more, it was an M8 Greyhound, one of America's most widely used support vehicles back in the day. The KP-bil took a hit, but luckily it didn't penetrate, scratching off the sloped surface.

"Fuck, call in the team!" Dave growled to Emma, who nodded and began turning the dials of their small radio set. "Willy to Pool, we've been engaged by hostiles, requesting assistance, over," she reported, Joey looking around for a way out of this. Quickly, there was a response. " _Confirmed Willy, help is on the way, out._ " Finding a path, Joey turned the jeep into a small street, the KP-bil following and the M8 Greyhound close behind. Another shot rang through the air, which landed a yard away from where Dave was sitting. "Shit, who are these people?!"

Then he heard the rumbling of an engine, and turned to face the right. In between the housing, he could see the other Greyhound in pursuit as well. "They're going to try and cut us off, find a left turn Joey!" he ordered, pointing Jones toward the other vehicle. "The fuck do you think I'm doing?!" Joey shot back, accelerating the car faster. The Ma Deuce fired once more, but none of the .50 caliber rounds hit. Neither did the enemy's 37mm, but they got the idea. Squinting closer, Dave finally found out who it was that was after them. _Speak of the devil_.

Before he could say anything, the jeep had turned once more, avoiding what would've been a game ending hit. The Greyhound had was no longer in sight, but its friend was still trying to get close to them. But after driving in a straight line for so long, it was obvious that the heavily armed vehicle would never get close, and they stopped chasing. Dave looked back, pumping his fist in the air triumphantly. "Hah! Eat our dust ya fuckin'-"

Dual explosions threw the jeep into the air by a large angle, though not enough to completely flip it over. They landed with a large crashing noise, but the vehicle kept moving forward. Swiveling to face the front, David grimaced in shock. Looking at the emblems, he once more identified the users of the two light tanks now hundred of meters away, pointing their 37mm tank guns straight at them with deadly intent. That blue star. The lighting bolt. The white shield.

"SAUNDERS!" He shouted, reaching over to grapple the wheel, quickly turning it into a hard right, just as another high explosive round rocked the asphalt. The jeep was driven directly into an alley, the KP-bil just barely able to squeeze into. "Saunders? That Jap school?!" Joey growled back, trying to keep the jeep from bumping into the walls. It took some effort, but they managed through. "Yeah, their so-called 'volunteer group'," Dave muttered looking around for signs of more enemy vehicles as they jumped back onto a street, "looks like they put their logo on though because of America's more official stance on Tankathlon…"

* * *

"Tsk, they got away again," the commander of one of the Saunders light tanks muttered. To be exact, they were the Flying Tankers Volunteer Group, but being known as Saunders was crucial for their debut in the American Tankery league. _Tankathlon here is kind of different from the one back home, no doubt_. She was kind of amazed by the way that this tournament was organized, but nonetheless she had to fight. _Get as many kills as possible? Piece of cake_.

As she loaded another round into the cannon, her gunner asked, "Alisa-san, are we going to keep chasing them down?" There was a look of boredom in her eyes, and Alisa could relate. They had been in this town for awhile now, after they made a straight charge all the way here after starting off in Indianapolis. It was planned all along after all, and they did snag a few kills on the way. The point was to completely take anyone here by surprise, knocking out as many vehicles as possible while they tried to look for fuel.

 _Urban combat isn't really American, but we pulled it off pretty well!_ She smiled at her great thinking, and from the app she had downloaded, she knew that they had gathered the most kills so far, except for some other team that was quite fairly one of the best in the state. "Yes, we're going to keep going after them," she answered frankly, "everyone that enters Gary cannot leave without being destroyed."

The M22 Locust reversed, and she grinned maniacally while bringing her head out of the turret. "We've got gas to liberate!"


End file.
